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With Halloween nearly upon us, it's a perfect time to revel in our fascination with the macabre — and to do it in a big way. So the Free Press is creating a Halloween Hall o' Fame. But we need your help to induct the first class.

Below are 10 nominees that were selected — after much deliberation — from more than 25 possibilities. All are horror mavens in one form or another. All have strong connections to Detroit.

From that list, Free Press readers will decide the first class of inductees.

We'll tally votes all next week, and announce the top three on Oct. 31: The inaugural Halloween Hall o' Fame class. They'll be celebrated with the public unveiling of signature illustrations created by the Free Press' multimedia art and projects director Eric Millikin, who knows a thing or two about frightening artwork. We might even have a surprise or two up our sleeves.

In its initial year, the hall will be largely virtual — housed at freep.com. But we'll elect new members every year while working to establish a fitting physical presence.

All the candidates and details on how to vote are below. It's time to get scary!

The campy vampire TV host played by Lawson J. Deming (died 2007) schooled a generation of Detroiters on horror movie classics with his Saturday-afternoon program that ran on Channel 2 from the late '60s into the early '80s. Featuring Sir Graves' humorously maniacal interludes in between genre-defining monster films like "Frankenstein" and "Dracula," the show celebrated the creepiness of its subject matter while also making it a touch more palatable — both the nightmare and the laugh to snap you out of it. As Sir Graves himself so often exclaimed: "Happy Haunting!"

INSANE CLOWN POSSE

The Insane Clown Posse.(Photo: Detroit Free Press)

The rapping clowns embody Halloween as much as any Detroit music act. For Shaggy 2 Dope and Violent J, pretty much every day is Oct. 31, with cartoonish violence, over-the-top theatrics and goofily menacing music all brewing in their hip-hop-rock cauldron. Then there's the annual Hallowicked concert, a Detroit Halloween night tradition that has sprayed Faygo and dripped greasepaint for 20 years running. Juggalos, don't forget your hatchet.

ALICE COOPER

Pioneering shock rocker Alice Cooper(Photo: Detroit Free Press)

Born Vincent Furnier in Detroit, the pioneering shock rocker broke through nationally after bringing his L.A.-based band back to his hometown in the early '70s. A mix of anti-hippie hard rock and Grand Guignol theatrics — including mock executions, ghoulish makeup, androgynous costumes, an on-stage boa constrictor and even rumored chicken decapitations — helped make Cooper an FM radio staple while providing inspiration for countless acts (Kiss and Mötley Crüe come to mind). Cooper knew there had always been a dark side to rock 'n' roll — and using it to scare parents was a sure way to win the hearts of teenagers.

REDFORD THEATRE

The Redford Theatre(Photo: Detroit Free Press)

An 86-year-old institution on Detroit's northwest side, the lovingly restored Japanese-style theater is known for classic-films screenings and merits consideration here for several reasons: First, its lineup always includes horror greats during the Halloween season, including "The Wolf Man," "The Phantom of the Opera" and "Evil Dead II" this year. Speaking of that Phantom, he'd probably feel at home on the Redford's Barton theater organ, which was installed at the venue's opening and is still eerily played today before films and during intermissions. And we'd be remiss to not mention longstanding rumors that the Redford is haunted, perhaps by a ghostly young woman named Sara.

BRUCE CAMPBELL

Bruce Campbell.(Photo: Detroit Free Press)

The Royal Oak–raised Campbell achieved B-movie legend status with his chin-forward portrayal of the irrepressible, wisecracking Ash, who sawed up, shot down and generally disrespected the undead and all sorts of other baddies in hometown bud Sam Raimi's trilogy of "Evil Dead"-connected films. Campbell's decades-long career has featured a wide variety of roles, just about all of them displaying the spoofy leading-man charisma that first became apparent when he and some friends headed to a woodsy cabin for some spring break fun and instead made horror movie history.

THE GHOUL

The Ghoul (Ron Sweed)(Photo: Detroit Free Press)

Though the late-night horror-movie show overseen by the Ghoul (Ron Sweed) originated in Cleveland, the host and his bizarre humor, manic improvisational energy and love for B-rate monster movies scored big with audiences in Detroit, where he played on Channel 50 (and later Channel 20) for much of the '70s and early '80s. Sweed's blow-it-all-up approach both mocked and celebrated the amateurishness that can abound in the horror world — and did it with a subversive glee. This was trash culture capable of reaching subliminal heights, which is why the Ghoul remains a revered figure among a generation of Detroit rockers, insomniacs and ne'er-do-wells.

HARRY HOUDINI

Harry Houdini(Photo: Detroit Free Press)

Though he performed here several times, the legendary magician and escape artist wasn't from Detroit. Still, he remains inexorably linked with the city's Halloween culture because he died on Oct. 31, 1926, at Grace Hospital after collapsing a few days earlier at a performance at the city's Garrick Theatre. (He was suffering from complications from a punch to the stomach a couple of days before that in Montreal.) Though a skeptic of mediums, Houdini had raised the idea of communicating from the afterlife. So Halloween night séances hoping to contact him have been a common occurrence in the Motor City and elsewhere ever since.

EREBUS

Erebus(Photo: Detroit Free Press)

This four-story haunted house in downtown Pontiac for several years running held the Guinness World Records signifier for the largest venue of its type, and regularly lands on lists of top haunted attractions nationwide. But it's the scares, not size and acclaim, that have been drawing hordes of thrill-seekers every October since Erebus opened in 2000. A mutant gorilla, a deranged clown and a wide variety of inhospitable characters inhabit the place, but it's an inventive approach to frights — with everything built in-house — that helps set it apart. Erebus co-owner Ed Terebus recently told the Free Press he thinks southeast Michigan is "the haunted house capital of the world." As anyone who has survived a visit there knows, Erebus is a monstrous reason why.

NAIN ROUGE

The Nain Rouge(Photo: Detroit Free Press)

Myth has it that this no-good imp has been spotted in Detroit environs as far back as the early 1700s, often pulling mean-spirited pranks or bringing other calamities upon the city and its residents. Diminutive in size and hued a devilish red that matches his personality, his rare sightings are reportedly the harbinger of bad tidings. Despite his evil ways, the Nain has emerged as something of a celebrity in recent years — the subject of books, a short film and the impetus for the annual Le March du Nain Rouge, which seeks to banish his negative vibes from a city on the move.

THEATRE BIZARRE

Theatre Bizarre(Photo: Detroit Free Press)

What started as a backyard party near the State Fairgrounds in 2000 became the city's most unlikely — yet signature — Halloween season event. Cofounded by Ken Poirier and John Dunivant, this masquerade/carnival/music event/celebration of underground creativity became a victim of its own success, forced from its original outdoor environs because of code violations in 2010. But it has since settled into a fittingly cavernous (and appropriately mysterious) home at the Masonic Temple, each year drawing thousands of costumed revelers into a darkly peculiar world where freaks and artists rightly rule the kingdom.

WHO'D WE MISS?

We considered a lot of people and institutions for our first nominating class: 25-plus of 'em. But we're sure we missed a few. We're dying to hear your suggestions for next year's edition. Leave your thoughts in the comments section below. The only requirements: a horror sensibility and a strong connection to Detroit.